Many electric vehicles rely on battery cells bundled into one or more battery modules to power the vehicle. It is known that the battery cells each build up temperature inside their battery case during use. In order to dissipate this heat, the battery modules include a cooling plate which acts as a heat transfer device to absorb the heat into a coolant fluid. Similarly, cooling plates or similar devices may be used to provide a heating fluid which heats a battery cell (e.g., in low temperature environments). Many different configurations of cooling and/or heating plates are known.
Most cooling plates used in combination with electric vehicle battery modules are separate devices which are positioned in contact with an outer module wall of a module housing. Due to this separation by a module wall, the cooling plate is made using a thermally-conductive material such as aluminum in order to more efficiently absorb the heat from the battery cells. However, this configuration is complex and requires manufacturing of a separate part, as well as design configurations for installation of the separate cooling plate. Moreover, because the cooling plate is thermally conductive, it should be isolated from other components of the vehicle. This may be accomplished through placement of the cooling plate on an isolating pad, which adds an additional component and expense.
The disclosed embodiments are directed to overcoming these and other problems of the prior art.